Difference between Automatic and Static variable

This is a discussion on Difference between Automatic and Static variable within the C++ Programming forums, part of the General Programming Boards category; Can someone please tell me the difference between an automatic and a static variable?
Also, what is the difference between
...

More precisely, the search order for "file" is
1) Project include directories. (Usually current working directory and directory of including file.)
2) System include directories. (Specified in the compiler/project options.)

For <file> it's
1) System include directories.

By convention you always use <> for foreign headers, i.e. those you didn't write for this project.

As for automatic and static, the short version is that an automatic variable exists only as long as the function it's in is executed. A static variable lives from first execution of the function to the end of the program. (And thus, for example, preserves its value between calls to the function.)